Article: MBI: Model-Based Inquiry Authors: Neilson, Drew; Campbell, Todd; Allred, Benjamin Publisher: Science Teacher 77 no8; National Science Teachers Association 2010
[Reviewed By David T. McArdle]
The article entitled “MBI: Model-Based Inquiry” appeared in the Science Teacher magazine in 2010. This article focuses on using Model-Based Inquiry in the classroom and the authors describe how MBI is an “emergent instructional strategy that is gaining acceptance among science teachers”. MBI is a learning process in which students explore different physical principles and develop experiments to test out various hypotheses that they may create regarding the physical concepts. The students then analyze their own results and come to conclusions that allow them to gain more conceptual understanding of the topics. The idea is to allow students to construct their own knowledge and discover new ideas and concepts on their own. This allows for more meaningful learning and is also representative of the work of “real” scientists. In the real world, hypotheses are formulated and tested on a daily basis in an attempt to gain a broader understanding of the world that we live in. MBI provides students with the opportunity to engage in such exploration.
The article also explains the three major steps that should be used in an MBI lesson: (1) Modeling (2) Focused Inquiry and (3) Iterations. During the “Modeling” step students must create a model of what they already know about the focus of the lesson (or the concept that they will be exploring). This step allows them to gather the knowledge and schema that they have previously created that will be helpful to them throughout the investigation. Once they figure out what they know they must outline what they don’t know. This step enables the teacher to determine a direction for the lesson. During the “Focused Inquiry” step students are asked to focus on what they don’t know and consider experiments that they could conduct in order to better understand these uncertainties. This step involves students creating hypotheses and designing/ implementing investigations in small groups. The final step in the MBI process, “Iterations”, allows students to revisit the original “models” and add to what they know and understand about the topic of the lesson.
Once the theory behind MBI is presented within the article, the authors proceed to provide a detailed example about how MBI can be effectively implemented in a high school physics classroom. They describe a lesson on buoyancy that was carried out using the MBI approach. Students were told that they would be learning about buoyancy and they were asked to consider why they felt lighter floating in water compared with standing on land. This enabled them to understand that there must be some sort of force acting on them while they are in a liquid. With the direction of the lesson established the MBI process began and students were asked to consider the origin of this force as well as various factors that may affect this force. In groups they developed hypotheses and investigations to determine which factors affect the “buoyant force”. They tested different independent variables such as mass, volume, depth and density of the object as well as density of the fluid. Using advanced force probes they were able to determine the relationship that the buoyant force has with all of these factors. In doing so they constructed their own knowledge and understanding of the physical concept of buoyancy.
After reading this article I was intrigued by the MBI process. I feel that it would certainly be an effective approach to learning in any science classroom. The process not only familiarizes students with the physical concept being studied but it also allows students to engage in the scientific method, use critical thinking and problem solving skills, and work collaboratively with their peers in order to reach a common goal. I feel that these learning experiences are the meaningful experiences that truly allow students to learn. They construct knowledge on their own and formulate their own understanding of the concepts. “Spoon feeding” students information seems to be the most prominent science teaching technique and it is by far the least effective. We need to let students have a longer leash and allow them to work on and ponder ideas on their own. This may not be the most time efficient approach but it is certainly the most beneficial. I will definitely incorporate these types of inquiry lessons into my future teaching.
Article: MBI: Model-Based Inquiry
Authors: Neilson, Drew; Campbell, Todd; Allred, Benjamin
Publisher: Science Teacher 77 no8; National Science Teachers Association 2010
[Reviewed By David T. McArdle]
The article entitled “MBI: Model-Based Inquiry” appeared in the Science Teacher magazine in 2010. This article focuses on using Model-Based Inquiry in the classroom and the authors describe how MBI is an “emergent instructional strategy that is gaining acceptance among science teachers”. MBI is a learning process in which students explore different physical principles and develop experiments to test out various hypotheses that they may create regarding the physical concepts. The students then analyze their own results and come to conclusions that allow them to gain more conceptual understanding of the topics. The idea is to allow students to construct their own knowledge and discover new ideas and concepts on their own. This allows for more meaningful learning and is also representative of the work of “real” scientists. In the real world, hypotheses are formulated and tested on a daily basis in an attempt to gain a broader understanding of the world that we live in. MBI provides students with the opportunity to engage in such exploration.
The article also explains the three major steps that should be used in an MBI lesson: (1) Modeling (2) Focused Inquiry and (3) Iterations. During the “Modeling” step students must create a model of what they already know about the focus of the lesson (or the concept that they will be exploring). This step allows them to gather the knowledge and schema that they have previously created that will be helpful to them throughout the investigation. Once they figure out what they know they must outline what they don’t know. This step enables the teacher to determine a direction for the lesson. During the “Focused Inquiry” step students are asked to focus on what they don’t know and consider experiments that they could conduct in order to better understand these uncertainties. This step involves students creating hypotheses and designing/ implementing investigations in small groups. The final step in the MBI process, “Iterations”, allows students to revisit the original “models” and add to what they know and understand about the topic of the lesson.
Once the theory behind MBI is presented within the article, the authors proceed to provide a detailed example about how MBI can be effectively implemented in a high school physics classroom. They describe a lesson on buoyancy that was carried out using the MBI approach. Students were told that they would be learning about buoyancy and they were asked to consider why they felt lighter floating in water compared with standing on land. This enabled them to understand that there must be some sort of force acting on them while they are in a liquid. With the direction of the lesson established the MBI process began and students were asked to consider the origin of this force as well as various factors that may affect this force. In groups they developed hypotheses and investigations to determine which factors affect the “buoyant force”. They tested different independent variables such as mass, volume, depth and density of the object as well as density of the fluid. Using advanced force probes they were able to determine the relationship that the buoyant force has with all of these factors. In doing so they constructed their own knowledge and understanding of the physical concept of buoyancy.
After reading this article I was intrigued by the MBI process. I feel that it would certainly be an effective approach to learning in any science classroom. The process not only familiarizes students with the physical concept being studied but it also allows students to engage in the scientific method, use critical thinking and problem solving skills, and work collaboratively with their peers in order to reach a common goal. I feel that these learning experiences are the meaningful experiences that truly allow students to learn. They construct knowledge on their own and formulate their own understanding of the concepts. “Spoon feeding” students information seems to be the most prominent science teaching technique and it is by far the least effective. We need to let students have a longer leash and allow them to work on and ponder ideas on their own. This may not be the most time efficient approach but it is certainly the most beneficial. I will definitely incorporate these types of inquiry lessons into my future teaching.